University of Surrey’s new medical school secures government-funded places

The new medical school at the University of Surrey will open its doors to UK-funded medical students from September 2025, the Department for Health and Social Care has announced.

Surrey’s School of Medicine has been awarded 34 home medical student places to start in 2025, representing a significant proportion of the 350 places shared across more than 30 medical schools nationally for the coming academic year. 

The school is already scheduled to welcome international students in September 2024, but says this latest intake will ‘turbo-charge’ its contribution towards the thousands of new medics required to fulfil the government’s long-term NHS Workforce Plan.

Professor Juliet Wright, founding dean of the University of Surrey School of Medicine, said: “We’re delighted to be on track to open Surrey’s first medical school – and to be playing such a significant part in delivering the expansion in medical school places the government needs.

“New doctors qualifying from Surrey will receive training that draws on the university’s expertise in biomedical science, clinical education, technology, and digital learning.

“We’ll be graduating doctors with the knowledge, skills and high professional standards required to meet the needs of patients in both community and hospital settings.” 

Surrey’s medical programme offers an accelerated route to medical qualification, in the form of a graduate entry model – whereby students with a previous first degree can undertake a four-year medical training programme.

This aligns with the government’s ambitions of creating additional routes into the medical profession, and the university anticipates applications from those already working in the NHS in allied careers – as well as a wide variety of previous academic backgrounds. 

Professor Max Lu, president and vice-chancellor of the university, added: “Surrey has a proud history of training nurses, paramedics and midwives for the NHS, and of delivering research that has saved lives and advanced medical treatment.

“Our new School of Medicine completes the picture.

“Surrey’s first medical school will soon be providing the NHS with doctors with comprehensive, clinically focused, modern training that will enable them to deliver excellent and compassionate care in the NHS of the future.”

The University of Surrey is working closely with NHS partners across Surrey and the South-East to deliver training places for medical students.

They include the NHS foundation trusts of Ashford and St. Peter’s Hospitals, Frimley Health, Royal Surrey, and Surrey and Borders Partnership, as well as Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust and a network of local GP practices.

Surrey is currently in the latter stages of accreditation for its medical programme with the General Medical Council (GMC).